Section reports

IndianaMark E. Gentry, MD, section chair

The Indiana Section held two well-attended, educationally valuable meetings in September 2012 and January 2013 on ultrasound and minimally invasive surgery, respectively. In April, Kenneth L. Noller, MD, MS, American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology director of evaluation, will present on the current status of Maintenance of Certification to our members. In September, we will hold a meeting with ACOG President Elect John C. Jennings, MD. We look forward to hosting Junior Fellow presentations from our local training programs and the possibility of assisting with the district Junior Fellow meeting in September.

Our approach to advocacy continues to evolve. The section sent five Fellows and Junior Fellows to the ACOG Congressional Leadership Conference, The President’s Conference (CLC), in March. We hope that this group of individuals becomes active locally as opportunities arise.

Rather than wait for legislation to happen, we are forging links with the Indiana State Medical Association and the Indiana State Department of Health. We now have a Fellow on the attorney general’s Task Force for Prescription Drug Abuse and have met with the chair of the Senate Health Committee regarding indications for ultrasound in the evaluation of dense breasts.

Browsyne M. Tucker Edmonds, MD, testified before legislators in February on concerns regarding direct-entry midwifery. She drew on knowledge gained from her attendance at previous CLCs and assistance from ACOG. Interacting with legislators is challenging, but we feel we are becoming savvier.

The Indiana Section will host a reception for Indiana Fellows and those with ties to Indiana residency programs and the Indiana University School of Medicine at the Annual Clinical Meeting in New Orleans on Monday, May 6. More details will be forthcoming.

Jeffrey Rothenberg, MD, MS, District V secretary, recently completed a new glass sculpture titled “Teichopsia” for the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Eye Institute, the newest building on the Indiana University School of Medicine campus. Comprised of more than 150 individual pieces, it is Dr. Rothenberg’s third major public sculpture.

KentuckyDivya B. Cantor, MD, MBA, section chair

The Kentucky Section held a two-day conference in March in Louisville with the Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Hospital Coalition, University of Louisville Hospital, Kosair Children’s Hospital, and Baptist Hospital East. The conference focused on the effect of substance-exposed pregnancies on mothers, infants, and caregivers.

Plans are under way for our annual reception at the Annual Clinical Meeting. It will be held Monday, May 6, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at the Hilton New Orleans Riverfront Hotel. The University of Louisville and University of Kentucky are sponsoring the reception. It is open to all past and present Kentucky ob-gyns.

The Kentucky Section Annual Meeting will be held in conjunction with the Kentucky Medical Association (KMA) Annual Convention September 10–11. It will be a two-day event with the first day focusing on gynecologic topics and the second day focusing on obstetric areas of interest. KMA’s overall theme is “Safeguarding Kentucky’s Health,”and we are keeping this topic in mind as we plan our guest speaker.

MichiganJody Jones, MD, section vice chair

The 2013 Michigan Annual Section Meeting (also known as the “Snow Meeting”) was held January 31–February 2 at Crystal Mountain Resort and Spa in Thompsonville. The James Gell Lecture was given by Paul A. Gluck, MD, chair of the ACOG Council on Patient Safety in Women’s Health Care, on “Patient Safety in Ob-Gyn: Some Progress, Many Challenges.”

Ira S. Winer, MD, Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, presented his ongoing research on disulfiram to overcome chemoresistance in ovarian cancer. William B. Blessed, MD, Providence Hospital in Southfield, lectured on updates in medical genetics and serum aneuploidy screening with cell-free DNA.

After hitting the slopes with a 60-inch snow base during the midday break on Friday, attendees returned for a coding seminar by Jon K. Hathaway, MD, PhD, chair of the ACOG Health Economic and Coding Committee. The final lecture on Saturday was given by Robert D. Stager, MD, St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, who provided an overview on the Maintenance of Certification process.

We invite all Fellows, Junior Fellows, and their family members, especially our neighbors in District V, to attend the 2014 Michigan Annual Section Meeting, tentatively scheduled for January 30–February 1. View photos from the 2013 meeting.

In other exciting news, Sen. Debbie Stabenow visited the practice of Cheryl G. Fountain, MD, section secretary, at the Beaumont Family Medicine Center in Saint Clair Shores in August. Her visit was part of an initiative for members of Congress to see firsthand how cuts to graduate medical education funding, Medicare, and Medicaid will affect physicians’ abilities to care for patients.

“Sen. Stabenow is totally committed to working with us to develop innovative ways to improve quality and increase efficiencies in the Medicaid program,” Dr. Fountain said. “She wants to protect graduate medical education funding from repeated, targeted cuts.”

Sen. Debbie Stabenow and Cheryl G. Fountain, MD,
section secretary

Sen. Debbie Stabenow with Beaumont Family
Medicine Center staff

OntarioNathan L. Roth, MD, section chair

The Ontario Section held a meeting in December to welcome new section officers and review their responsibilities. We are grateful to David A. Rouselle, MD, immediate past section chair, and Joseph H. Cramer, MD, immediate past section vice chair, for their six years of unwavering service to the section. Their stewardship, mentorship, quick wit, and past and future contributions are valued.

Part of our role as section officers is to educate program directors and residents on the benefits of becoming an ACOG member. Benefits for Junior Fellows include:

Amanda R. Cipolla, MD, is section Junior Fellow chair, and Mathew Leonardi, MD, is section Junior Fellow vice chair. They are looking for Junior Fellows to act as liaisons to each Ontario residency program to assist in distributing important ACOG information and to advise all residents about ACOG opportunities. The time commitment and responsibilities will be minimal. If you are interested, please email Dr. Cipolla at amanda.cipolla@gmail.com or Dr. Leonardi at mathew.leonardi@gmail.com.